#tedah writes

[tedahfromtayla]

First line game

Tagged by the wonderful @shealwaysreads who warms my heart by remembering me after I disappeared into the void

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

I'm going from the newest backwards and nothing under 500 words (I hope I have enough)

1) Forged through flowing water (written for Erised 2020)

Hermione held onto her hat, as the hot wind threatened to carry it off.

2) A breath worth of life (written for @hd-hurtfest 2020 as a birthday gift to @quicksilvermaid)

Draco was happy.

3) Love only happens once, or twice (written for @hptriadfest poly mini 2020)

Hermione checked their luggage one more time, made sure they had their passports, all her university documents, Ron's gear all packed securely…

4) A place of love (written for @jacksonwhittemoreweek 2020)

Jackson strained under the effort to maintain the position.

5) Brothers and Sisters (written for Pride 2020)

Draco had been an only child for eighteen years before losing his parents to insurmountable prejudice as well.

6) The view from above (written because I was horny one day and @shealwaysreads enabled me)

Stiles had always assumed he would end up in a shitty customer service job to help lessen the cost of his college tuition for his dad, maybe a bookstore if he was lucky, so he could read for free during slow days.

7) Under the moonlight (written for the Weasley men get pegged project)

Bill was no werewolf, but Fleur didn’t kid herself thinking her husband’s relationship to the moon remained unchanged after that day at Hogwarts.

8) Nothing good happens after 2 am (written to procrastinate on my final dissertation)

It wasn’t cold exactly that Derek felt.

9) Love and Other Unsafe Medical Practices (my debut into fandom writing and longest fic to date)

Being a healer was invigorating, constantly challenging and it was the perfect environment for Draco Malfoy to thrive.

10) Welcome home (written for @hdowlpost 2019, it's a translation so not technically mine)

His heart was hammering in his chest when he stopped to catch his breath, but he never seemed to be able to get enough air in his lungs.

11) What's in a name (written because cute)

Draco had just finished grading papers and had barely gotten started on dinner, when Harry came back from his evening out with their son.

12) The ugly Christmas sweater of destiny (again, @shealwaysreads enabled me)

Stiles is out Christmas shopping for the pack.

13) The rest is history (written for @hdowlpost 2019)

Potter, this is ridiculous!

14) Sometimes shit turns to gold (still @hdowlpost 2019)

Harry thought that bringing the children on a trip to the mountains before christmas holidays was a great idea.

15) Summer Lovin' (written for @siriusblackfest 2019)

Sirius had grown to love summer

16) Just another day on the job (written for an ask)

Stiles was a professional.

17) One of these things is not like the others (written just because)

Eighth year was an odd affair.

18) How to succeed in love: A tried and tested method by R. J. Lupin, married man. (written as a followup to deranged talks on the Drarry Discord)

Babies have this terrible habit, this thing they do all the time: they grow up.

19) A father’s job (written for Pride 2019, also available in Italian)

Being out into the world is scary enough when you've just finished school and have no idea what to do with yourself.

20) Insider knowledge (written after some very interesting meta discussion)

So you didn’t get any last night.

So, let’s see what’s going on there... I have a lot of openings being broad declarations about the world, and I kind of like them. 

My absolute favourite opening is A breath worth of life, it’s effective, and paired with the second line “because that’s what good, decent people do at weddings” gives an immediate mood for the entire fic.

I also don’t dislike dialogue lines as openers, but I don’t particularly enjoy general action openers like #1 or #11

I think everyone and their sister must have already done this in the weeks it took me to catch up, so if you haven’t already and want to, take this as your tag.

[tedahfromtayla]

Nightlight

Sterek | G | WC 488

Written for the Eternal Sterek discord drabble exchange

Summary:  

Derek has his turn dealing with the nightly duties of the father of a traumatized child. Alternatively the one where Derek is a sappy wolf very much in love with his husband while comforting their child.

[Read on Ao3]

[tedahfromtayla]

Love and Other Unsafe Medical Practices

(banner by @consciouslyunbound​)

Drarry | E | WC 116k [Ao3]

Author: Tedah

Summary:

Love is a lot like surgery: sometimes you have to take risks to succeed and most times there are unexpected side effects.

Harry is back in a hospital room after an Auror sting gone wrong and nobody is amused at this point. It's starting to become somewhat of a familiar scene for Ron and Hermione. This time his healer is one Draco Malfoy so it's actually a /little/ funny when something goes wrong during recovery.

[The last chapter is online]

Excerpt: 

“Did Healer Dana decide when you’re going to get released?” Draco asked halfway through a chess game.

“Shouldn’t you already know?” Harry asked with a small smile.

“I’m not your Healer this time around,” Draco reminded him.

“Just the concerned boyfriend.”

Draco’s eyes snapped up to Harry, his heart doing a strange leap. “Is that what I am?” he asked, trying not to let his uncertainty show.

“I mean...” Harry shrugged. “Sounds a little reductive for the amount of history between us but I couldn’t think of a better word. Too early?” he asked hesitant.

“No,” Draco replied, feeling his cheeks heat up a little “I just… We’re thirty-two, nearly thirty-three, doesn’t boyfriend sound a little… young?”

“Partner?” Harry proposed.

“I’m not sharing the title with Finnigan!” Draco replied outraged.

[tedahfromtayla]

2019 favourites

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2019. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

thank you @quicksilvermaid for the tag.

My favourite five things I created this year. Let’s preface by saying that everything I created this past year is my favourite because I got back into being creative so even my worst work is still a victory for me. But let’s get serious (pun fully intended)

A Father’s Job

I know this isn’t the place one might expect me to start. It’s not the first thing I’ve produced or the most elaborate but I believe it’s the most meaningful. 

I wrote it during pride month reflecting on the rejection many baby gays face from their families and the incredible potential of Draco finding love and support in the Lupin-Black household.

The fact that it extended into a series shows just how much I hold that little one shot dear.

Love and Other Unsafe Medical Practices

(banner by @consciouslyunbound​)

This is where it all started, my baby, my creature, the gorgeous mess that launched me. It started with zero expectations and received so much love that spurred me on to transform it into the 22 chapters over 100K behemoth that it is now (only 19 published but it’s going to get there).

It’s about the weight of one’s past informing their decisions, growth through pain, honesty with oneself and each other. It’s about steadfast friendships and second chances (and third, and fourth). But most of all it’s about healing, breaking unhealthy patterns and living with other people’s expectations, for better or worse.

It shows heavy influence from @bixgirl1​ and @quicksilvermaid​ and I think I love it all the more for it.

Writing it was an incredible journey, made better by the entire discord squad and @ana-iliad​ who held my hand for a good portion of it.

Publishing a WIP allowed me to meet so many people in the comments section, this story wouldn’t be the same without that input.

Summer Lovin’

Smut, my best friend an dmy worst enemy. I was torn whether to include in this list  A treat, my actual first foray in writing porn (dedicated to @upthehillnsfw​) I think in the end Summer Lovin’ was a more interesting journey. It was my very first fest @siriusblackfest​ took my fest virginity with this piece that I struggled with more than reasonably justifiable, and in the end I loved the soft and peaceful world I created so much that I decided to write the war and fire needed to achieve it (sorry, it’s still in very early development)

Writing wolfstar was different from Drarry but not that much. I loved the intimacy of a tried and tested couple.

Sometimes shit turns to gold

@hdowlpost​ My second fest, the one where I let loose and allowed myself to jump straight out of the box and be a little feral. 

A fluffy story about the unexpected treasures one can find when things go distinctly not according to plan. Where nothing is what you expect it to be and somehow it’s better that way.

I enjoyed inhabiting a world where the worst worry is who a bunch of primary school children think is cooler, at least for a while. I proved to myself that I can indeed write a short self-contained story under 5k. Then I decided to add an epilogue (that I WILL write... at some point)

The rest is History

Somehow my second owlpost entry is the mirror image of the first. In this one everything goes horribly cartoonishly wrong with the entire world. It still has a strong thematic of parental love in many different forms (I’m starting to detect a pattern in my works).

Deep down it’s about the wilingness to burn down the world to save your child and struggling with the knowledge that it might still not be enough and in the end knowing that you are not alone in that struggle. 

On the surface though, it’s just about time travel shenanigans and gays living their best lives in a house in Provence, and that’s the part I love most about it. I resisted the temptation to turn it into a 50k novel and I’m still wondering if I made the right decision.

Now onto tagging. Q already stole most of the people I wanted to tag, namely @tackytigerfic​ @drarryruinedme7​ and @shealwaysreads​ but let me tag you guys again so the message really sinks in. Let me add @upthehillart​ and @potter-art​ because this isn’t exclusive to writers and I know you guys have produced some wonderful art this year and you deserve a moment to appreciate it.

Also @letsdothepanic​ @nonasuch​ because your wolfstar is primo material

And @april-thelightfury115 just because.

[tedahfromtayla]

Love and Other Unsafe Medical Practices

Summary: Love is a lot like surgery: sometimes you have to take risks to succeed and most times there are unexpected side effects.

Harry is back in a hospital room after an Auror sting gone wrong and nobody is amused at this point. It's starting to become somewhat of a familiar scene for Ron and Hermione. This time his healer is one Draco Malfoy so it's actually a /little/ funny when something goes wrong during recovery.

Ao3

Chapter 16

At some point, Harry decided to let the beard grow. It was around the third time Malfoy bullied him into shaving because he was, once again, starting to look like a mountain man in the least complimentary way possible. The words “sad Hagrid” were used.

The confidence with which Malfoy stepped into his personal space, the firm and sure way his cold hands manipulated his face, the smooth slide of light fingers on his neck made him almost wish that pale hand closed around it, pressing until it was hard to breathe, upping the sense of danger already coursing through Harry’s veins with every touch of the blade. Harry found himself instinctively baring his neck for Malfoy more than once.

Malfoy hadn’t nicked him once so far, and Harry was sure he wouldn’t. But he could. He could do anything he wanted, and he was giving Harry a thorough shave, telling him in a low soothing voice how Pansy and Daphne were about to leave for France and then Milan to showcase Pansy’s new collection. He caught some mention of Blaise missing his wife terribly and becoming mopey and needy and clingy whenever they left… There was an unexpected fondness in Malfoy’s tone, but Harry was too busy ignoring his embarrassing erection to pay too much attention to the finer details.

“You’re thinking very loudly, Potter,” Malfoy hummed, wiping the excess soap from his face and applying aftershave.

[tedahfromtayla]

The day Draco Malfoy was saved

Inspired by @upthehillart‘s piece

Draco Malfoy was saved in a moment.

He was saved by a grace unnamable. It wasn’t his mother putting herself between him and the Dark Lord, or his godfather, or even Potter wrenching him away from the flames.

Draco Malfoy was saved in an instant infinitely more powerful than any of those.

He was saved by wide watery grey eyes looking at him with the awe only a newborn was capable of.

He was saved the moment his unsteady hands closed around the bundle of blanket and baby and the words caressed his ears

“Congratulations, mr Malfoy, it’s a beautiful baby boy.”

In the space of a breath he was a changed man.

He wasn’t beyond redemption anymore, because now he knew, looking into his son’s eyes that there wasn’t just darkness inside of him. He found himself capable of a love so selfless he knew with unshakeable certainty that he would lay down his life to ensure just another beat of his son’s heart.

The enormity of it filled him like a rising tide.

He wasn’t worthy of it, of having this pure and innocent creature stare at him with wonder. But Scorpius had been handed to him anyway, and his hands were now called to kindness and love; a call he would answer even if it cost him anything, because when he brought his son to his chest and felt the weight of him in his arms Draco Malfoy knew his life wasn’t his own anymore, it belonged to something much purer than himself, a light that he’d brought in the world, despite the darkness that filled his past and marked his soul.

Something he’d never thought, never could have imagined, so far beyond what he could ever hope to shape into words took home inside his chest the moment he felt the warmth of his son’s skin in the palm of his hand.

In a breath Draco Malfoy was saved.

On Ao3

[tedahfromtayla]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley Characters: Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Narcissa Black Malfoy, Andromeda Black Tonks, Teddy Lupin, Blaise Zabini Additional Tags: Healer Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Auror Ron Weasley, Harry Potter is a reckless idiot, Healing, Injury Recovery, Accidental Bonding, Magically Powerful Harry Potter, Minor Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Post-War, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Unconventional Medical Practices, Light Dom/sub, competent Draco Malfoy, Pining, Occlumency, malicious bureaucracy, does this even count as a courtroom drama?, House Elves, Slow Burn, Case Fic, I suppose, Child Loss Summary:

Love is a lot like surgery: sometimes you have to take risks to succeed and most times there are unexpected side effects.

Harry is back in a hospital room after an Auror sting gone wrong and nobody is amused at this point. It's starting to become somewhat of a familiar scene for Ron and Hermione. This time his healer is one Draco Malfoy so it's actually a /little/ funny when something goes wrong during recovery.

I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me. But I’m back with another chapter, almost on schedule!

Enjoy because God only knows when the next one will be up

[tedahfromtayla]

Fandom games edition I: diaries of a tribute

round II

After the first four deaths Red and Kinzie decided that their best chance to make it was staying out of the action, wait for everyone else to slaughter each other and then finish off the ones still standing. It was a good plan since they had a nice hiding place, what they hadn't considered was how nerve wracking the wait could be.

Each day was like the one before and the one after, fading in an endless restless wait. Kinzie hunted, Red made the food edible and as good as it could get. They alternated to keep watch but nothing happened. The oppressing silence and the lack of news was wearing them thin. The whole area around them was frighteningly silent and life seemed to have frozen over. Once or twice they heard a tribute walk under their tree but they let them go, preferring not to give away their position.

They started counting the days, trying to keep track of time and finally they heard the cannon crackle, announcing a death. Red found the corpse the following day on the shore when she went to get water and she stole the crossbow and everything useful she could find on it.

Kinzie and her decided to stack the tree house with food in case they had to withstand siege in the future. They had a good amount of weapons and they didn't have problems getting water from the river or whenever it rained. If it wasn't for the nerve wracking tension they could be having a nice vacation in the wilderness.

In the following fourteen days the cannon shot five more times announcing the demise of five more tributes.

"there's just 14 of us left now" Kinzie noted gloomily as they ate dinner, she had managed to bring down a small deer and they were trying to figure out a way to preserve the meat or use it bit by bit. Red nodded "both tributes from district 2 are gone" she commented "and the ones from 8 as well" she added "and one from 3... apparently being smart isn't going to get us through these games" Kinzie nodded "how much longer do you think we'll be safe up here?" she asked. Red shrugged "I guess until someone starts looking for us... and maybe a little longer" she looked around the shelter they had built and worked on improving "it's a good hiding place we have."

Once the food was all gone Red took up the crossbow and offered to keep watch first wishing Kinzie goodninght. Another day was gone. Almost a month had passed and ten tributes were dead. The redhead was going to fight for them not to be the next.

so this is the diaries of the second round of the officialfandomgames. check out my lovely fellow tribute kinziefreakingkensington and keep us running if you want more of this. of course the diaries are going to stop when I die.